When I moved to Arlington two months ago, walkability was one of the area’s biggest draws. Maybe I’ve taken for granted that every place I’ve ever lived has had plenty of sidewalks, but I was definitely taken by surprised when I discovered my new neighborhood was missing more than a few pedestrian facilities.

To put this in more context: I live within a half-mile radius of the Ballston Metro station. From my home you can easily see high-rise buildings and cranes being used to build more of them. Most amenities are easily withing walking distance; but in the sense that there are good pedestrian facilities connecting the neighborhood, something is lacking.

In some places, there are no sidewalks on either side of the street. In other places, there are sidewalks on one side, but not on the other. In a few instances, a sidewalk exist in front of a single house, but not in front of the houses on either side of it. Interestingly enough, every morning as I make my way to work, I see plenty of pedestrians on their way to Metro, walking in the middle of the street, in the places where there simply aren’t any sidewalks to accommodate them.

I’m told that in many of these cases, Arlington County owns the right-of-way where missing sidewalks would be installed; but opposition from homeowners makes progress slow, painful and difficult.

Why would anyone oppose something as simple as a sidewalk in front of their home? A few of the the top concerns among homeowners include liability, maintenance issues, snow clearing and “perceived” loss of their yard. While these issues look like legitimate concerns on paper, I can’t help but think about the same issue from the perspective of a home buyer.

A new home buyer faces these same concerns. Purchasing a home with a sidewalk out front entails many of the same risks as having the local government install one where currently none exists. Yet new home buyers, particularly in urban areas, typically view sidewalks as assets, not liabilities.

In a lot of ways the situation reminds me of opposition to new transit development. Before the infrastructure is built, there are laundry lists of reasons it would be bad for residents in the neighborhood. In many cases, the same neighborhoods become some of the most desirable places to live once it’s all said and done.